Monday, December 29, 2014

Days of Exile: Chapter 60

It is over! I'm super excited.

I've rambled quite a lot in the chapter itself, but I've saved the blog post for things more personal. 

Now, regarding the story where they went to Wutai, should I continue? I'm really in a dilemma about it. On one hand, I desire to write it out. On the other hand, I feel that it's time to break away from this world. I have to move on and try something new. If not, I may just ride on this 'success' and never improve in other things.

That is the biggest reason, among many others. It's also because I lack details and story plots to make it a good one. I don't know about you, but I never launch a story without planning up to 40% of the story. 40% means a skeleton of the story progression, the ending, some milestones of the story and solid, believable characters. Even my intentionally-crappy story on 9gag vs FF7 was planned. The only one where I did minimal planning was Samurai Deeper Kyo's "Dress Off!", which ironically, was the most successful story in my profile. That had implications on many levels.

I'm also afraid of the amount of time that I have to put in. As of now, I am uploading "The Only Exception" and I'm not sure how committed can I be with this story. Even now, I'm not very sure what is going to happen after Tifa's story. I'm pretty unprepared, hurhur. 

Then again, if I start moving away from the world of "Days of Exile", it means that it will take A LOT to get back into the world. Maybe a rereading of "I Want To Be A Turk!" and "Days of Exile". Just the thought of it is enough to get my lazy soul crawling back to the couch.

Here is the link to the web novella that I've mentioned. I'm sure you can find those youtubers yourself with their usernames, right?

Alrighty, time for fun facts of "Days of Exile"!

1. Every letter in the alphabet is used in the titles. I finally managed to get it done. If you are not sure what I meant, you can check out my post where I found out that I missed out "Y".

2. None of the chapter titles were words mentioned by Meia throughout that particular chapter. I'm pretty sure of that, but then again, I could be horribly wrong.

3. I absolutely love rewriting the game scenes. It may seem easy since I don't have to think of dialogue, but that's all that is easy. The setting, the actions, even the mistranslated sentences have to be looked into and mulled over before I could write out something more realistic. It was hard to understand what the game was trying to portray sometimes.

4. Many of the scenes were thought of last minute, and thanks to that, I found myself going in a direction that I was not expecting. One of them was Meia disguising as Matilda Ederfeld. Turned out that she was under disguise for a long time, and that led to her going to the Northern Crater, thus being more able to describe what happened when Cloud passed the Black Materia to Sephiroth. However, with that unplanned writing meant a lot of loophole filling.

5. My initial plan was to write the backstories on all the BC Turks, but the main story took up too much time. I've managed to cover Cissnei, KK, Alana, Cassie, Mason, Jasper and a bit of Leia. For Rod and Haato, I have mentioned it in the story but honestly, there was supposed to be a development from their stories so... Oh well. Since there may not be a chance anymore, Kido's backstory was that he was a lackey from Don Corneo's, which I've mentioned in "I Want To Be A Turk!" before but never developed further from that.

6. Oh well, it's pretty obvious that Kido is my worst character to develop. For some reason, I could not fit that taciturn character into the story. Better luck next time.

7. In case you are wondering about KK's name still, I really have no idea what it means, because I've never thought about it.

8. My favourite characters in "Days of Exile" were Reeve Tuesti and Kent. I enjoyed how Reeve became such an emotional character with so much potential for development. 

9. There were many character that regrettably, not written to their full potential. Kunsel and Kido were some examples. The one that I had the most regret towards, was Kent. I wish I could tell you what kind of backstory he had. In fact, actually I did, but I doubt anyone would be able to detect. You kinda need serious detective work, or owning the author's brain, to find out.

10. I would say the same for Lindy and Eddie too. The two of them are featured in Chapter 56 for a reason... which we may never know too. 

11. Two of my titles are exactly the same. Chapter 60 was supposed to be "Reunion" but I just found out that it coincides with Chapter 4. Oh well. That's why it's not "Reunion" anymore.

From these two stories in the last 3.5 years, I learnt a few lessons that I thought would be fun to share:

1. Always do your research. That is not exactly a lesson learnt, but I can never emphasise enough.

2. Thinking about your stories when doing something repetitive, like running or swimming, helps ease the exercise a little better. However, you don't get very far as you will find yourself getting back to square one. For me, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Furthermore, the frustration when you do think of a novel idea, but you can't stop to jot the idea down.

3. Try not to write a story for more than 40 chapters. Lesson painfully learnt.

And that's all I have for you, folks. Thank you and... hope to see you around in my other stories.

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Of drawings and such

I was talking to a friend of mine just a while ago. She's a really talented artist but she said that she can't draw people very well. So that kinda reminded me of myself when I was a kid.

You may have heard me mention that I've watched anime and manga at a young age. What you wouldn't know was that I was really influenced by it. For the record, the very very first few anime that I watched were bits of Sailormoon and Ranma 1/2.

Anyway, it got me so into it that when I was in Primary 6, I tried drawing my own manga. I got caught for it by my parents and was scolded because I was not concentrating on my final exam (good ol' PSLE). When I went to secondary school, or middle school as some people would call it, I met a good friend and we started drawing together; showing each other's work when we were done. With her encouragement, I tried drawing another manga and guess what? I managed to finish one and a half chapters, yo.

Ah, good ol' days. I didn't last long though. It was one fine morning after my O' Levels that I realised that I wasn't quite cut out for drawing. I could only draw figures in a particular angle and they look pretty static. Furthermore, I. totally. suck. at. backgrounds. and perspectives. and the list goes on. The shame. I am too embarrassed to even look at my pictures now.

I lost contact with my friend after o' levels but the last time I checked, she was still drawing. Awesome.

With that, my drawing days crashed pretty quickly. Since that moment when I told myself that I wasn't cut out for drawing, I totally stopped. Nowadays, my drawings are just limited to cutesy animals and etc to make little children happy.

However, through that experiment, I realised that I was more interested in the other aspect of manga-making... the storyline.

And the rest, my friends, is history.

Friday, December 19, 2014

Celebrations are in order...

First of all, it was Meia's birthday about 4 days ago, so happy birthday Meia Etsky! I'm so glad and proud of how she had turned out after all those nonsense and brainstorming. I'm so glad that you felt that she was a wonderful OC and that she had tugged on your heartstrings more than once. She is indeed, a special one, because I've put in so much effort and work in shaping her to become who she is.

Next, I realised that this year would be my 10th year since I've started writing fanfiction. Like, gee. In fact, according to Fanfiction, 20th of October 2004 was my first chapter, ever. Considering that I have never read any fanfiction prior to that? The date would be pretty accurate. So I'm about 2 months late, but I wanted to celebrate nevertheless.

Finally, in my personal life, there is something worth celebrating too. I'm happy that I'm moving on to the next stage of my life and may the new commitments not lead me too far away from fanfiction writing.

What are the celebrations? Honestly, I did not make myself really do something. I have the intention of opening something to drink after Days of Exile is fully uploaded, but we'll see :) Well, I've been taking a break, reading manga to my heart's content, and writing really slowly... if you consider THAT a suitable celebration. Hehe.

Don't worry, I assure you that "Days of Exile" will continue uploading till the end.

Thursday, December 11, 2014

The Only Exception: Chapter 1

Hello everyone, as you all know by now, I've been working on "I Want To Be A Turk!" and "Days of Exile" for the longest time. However, it's not like I don't write other stuff still. So since all that is left for "Days of Exile" is to be published, I thought I'll start publishing my new one.

When I was younger I saw my daddy cry and cursed at the wind.
Broke his own heart and I watched as he tried to reassemble it.

Since fanfiction has explicitly stated that no musical lyrics, I respect fanfiction and will remove the lyrics. However, here they are over here. The stories are written around the lyrics so I mean, that makes the story extra meaningful, just my opinion.

This plot bunny has been around since 2011, but for some reason I never got down to writing it. Since  2011, I've only written one and a half chapters. Although I have the ideas for the other chapters, I've not written them down yet. Here's to hoping that I will get them out... eventually.

“The Only Exception” is one of my favourite songs from Paramore. Then again, I love many many songs from Paramore, even the more recent ones when they went all mainstream-pop-ish. The stories have a story plot style like that of shoujo manga. That means you need to watch out for superficial plotpoints and way-too-fast-paced story progression. Yes, it IS intentional. 

Also, I'm a little doubtful of my writing in this story. I mean, everyone knows that I've spent the last 3 and a half years writing on two stories based on the Shinra Turks. I'm kinda scared that my characterisation of the AVALANCHE members will be kinda weak. It's time for a brand new journey of learning, nevertheless.

Like how I started “I Want To Be A Turk!”, I began by declaring that the story is updated on a non-committal basis. I've seen what 2014 did to my updating schedule, so no promises.

Anyway, this is four stories of four different characters. Their stories were written to fit the song. It’s AU, obviously. The four stories happen in the same universe. Each story takes about 2-3 chapters, depending on how much I want to write. I originally thought of ending each story in a single chapter, but reading too many words in one sitting kind of befuddles the readers’ comprehension. That's what I think.

Anyway, I hope you will read and review. Finally, a story not centralised on the Turks!

Friday, November 28, 2014

Sorry for the long wait...

But the long wait is over. Ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to announce that I've finished writing "Days of Exile"!

WOOHOO!

After a whole month of fretting how I should link up and draw closure to my story in vain, I decided to sit down and wing it. And then I finished the last two chapters in two days.

Gee, if only I had done them earlier, huh? Now that the story's done, I'm raring to go! Days of Exile will be back on a weekly update basis and when I'm back on my trip, I'll hasten the uploading process to two chapters a week!

Finally, something positive, hehe. That is, IF I remember. Whatever the case is, I'm ECSTATIC that I'm done. I'll go sentimental on the story when it comes.

*goes away cheering*

Monday, October 20, 2014

Manga VS Anime: What's the Difference? (Part One)

In light of my recent turn of interest to manga and anime, I decided that I should pitch my articles towards manga/anime too. So now my blog is literally a mishmash of books, fanfiction, games and manga. Never too good to diversify like that, but everything is all in the good name of writing, so it's hard to separate them.

Anyway, this would be a pilot blog post of sorts, to get me started on all the other drafts and ideas that I have in my head. Despite being a starter, this blog post caters to both the veteran manga readers and the newbies. So continue reading, it may be more useful than you think.

For my non-manga readers, the meaning of 'manga' means japanese comics. 'anime' is short for the word 'animation'. You may refer to them as 'japanese cartoons' but they should not be treated like cartoons, for the only commonality they share is that they are both animated.

Now, back to differences between manga and anime. If you are vaguely some kind of manga/anime fan, you would know the difference between the two. They have been discussed, presented in many websites that you can just pop by and Google nowadays.But there will always be that one person that always interchanges the terms, sadly.



Today, I will present the differences once again to you, in my own words. Some things that I will mention is based on my conclusions by looking at some examples. Also, I rely on the manga "Bakuman" for ideas because the manga focuses on the manga business. You can read more about Bakuman here.

I never had a problem differentiating between manga and anime. I guess it's because I was exposed to the both of them from a young age. For the handful of people who confuses the two terms, especially newbies who are starting out on the world of manga/anime, I can see why they are confused as to whether there is truly a difference. Many big titles that we see together, like Naruto, One Piece, Sword Art Online... They both have the manga and anime version. The anime version is usually more popular. You see them watching episodes on trains, in schools... people think that manga and anime are interchangeable but they are not!

Differences
1. Medium
Most obviously, manga is drawn on paper while anime is animated to be watched like a video. It's not rocket science, but an easy parallel to compare with is for example, the Spiderman comics VS Spiderman cartoons.


Comics on the left, cartoon on the right.

I leave you with the manga and anime of HunterxHunter for you to compare. You may see the obvious that manga is often not coloured but anime is.




2. Inspiration
Manga usually begins as an original story from a mangaka (manga artist). Examples of these are BLEACH, One Piece and many more. There are many cases where manga originate from an already existent idea or universe. So the manga births from a light novel or a highly popular game. Examples of those are Shakugan no Shana (light novel), Full Metal Panic (light novel), Star Ocean EX (game) and Tales of the Abyss (game).

For the anime, almost all the time, the anime project begins when the manga title is largely popular. As such, almost all your mainstream, popular anime are around because their manga counterparts were popular first. There are anime that stems from light novels and games, but the manga would have been in publication first. However, the popularity that leads to the production of the anime is not as dependent on the manga popularity in this case.

3. Publication
The ways to publish manga and an anime are vastly different. As mentioned earlier, animes are proposed to be made once the manga has reached some kind of popularity. Often, the anime helps to boost manga sales.

Now, according to "Bakuman", there is a more tedious process of getting the work published. In a nutshell, authors submit their one-shots and wait for the publishing company to agree to publish it. If the one-shot has a good response, only then can the mangaka (manga artist) draw a series on it. But that's just from Bakuman, so don't take my word for it. However, I feel that in such a competitive industry, I believe it's not so easy to just submit anything for printing.

Manga usually first appears in a comic magazine like Shounen Jump or Margaret, where it's a whole mishmash of chapters from many comics. When the title gains lots of recognition, the author/mangaka will be offered a chance to make their series into tankobons, which is the volumes of manga that we see in comic book shops and so on.

4. Creators
Usually, a single manga artist (or mangaka) draws the manga. There may be assistants helping out with the backgrounds and inking and all that, but the initial plan and sketches are thought of by the mangaka, supported by an editor in the publishing company.

There are people who form teams to draw manga. One comes up with the story plots and one draws.

Bakuman.

Bakuman is a prime example. In the manga where two boys aspire to make manga, one of them creates the story and the other draws the manga out. Interestingly, "Bakuman" is created by a team of two people too. With Ohba Tsugumi as the writer and Obata Takeshi as the artist. You will also be interested to know that this same team of people created your ever-famous Death Note.

For anime, a team of artists and producers work together to create an animation. The original creator of the title, if I'm not mistaken, plays a smaller role, more like an advisor rather than to draw for the anime.

4. Content
As mentioned earlier, the anime team usually may or may not have the mangaka's 100% participation. As such, content in the anime may be parallel with the manga, but we will see discrepancies. Examples of discrepancies are filler episodes, or information tweaking. In some cases, the anime completely changes the ending because the manga is still ongoing.

Nowadays, we are lucky to get most anime titles trying to have similar features and events being the same as with the manga. Once upon a time, we have  weird endings just so that the anime can have a peaceful rest (I'm staring at you, Samurai Deeper Kyo anime!)

Well, these are some of the basic differences between anime and manga. So please don't go around saying that they are the same because they can be real different in terms of origin and even their content!

So for my interested readers, I will try to compare the experience of reading manga and watching anime, and which one would suit you. Hope this long exposition has helped you!

Pictures taken from:
Odd one out
Spiderman Comic
Spiderman Cartoon
HunterxHunter Manga
HunterxHunter Anime
Bakuman

Monday, October 13, 2014

There has GOT to be an official name for this...

Like all book lovers, we like to buy and own some of our favourite books. I, however, have certain idiosyncrasies when it comes to books. It drives my friends and relatives nuts, but a small pool of bibliophiles understand :) There must be some kind of medical term to such obsessions, I feel.

1. If my books belong to some kind of series, they MUST be of the same publishing company.

Let the pictures explain.

Harry Potter from different publishers, all over the world. 

My books cannot jump from publisher to publisher. Therefore I can't have Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in Scholastic and then Chamber of Secrets in Bloomsbury (I cringe as I think of it. Actually, that is what happened with my book.)

This is not fine. I think I need to go and get the replacement soon because I heard Scholastic is releasing a new print *gasp*


This is fine.

Even manga has to be (as far as possible) from the same publisher. However, I'm not extremely particular. Maybe it's because the covers are still quite similar. Just that one uses Simplified Chinese while the other uses Traditional Chinese.

2. I hate broken book spines.
This one really drives my sisters insane. They use it as an excuse to explain why they don't like to read even though their little sister has so many. I can't exactly blame them. I get really nervous when they open the book and bend the spine. It was because of this stupid obssession that I feel so torn between wanting my friends and families to read my favourite books and keeping the books to myself so that they remain nice and pristine.

Then again, if you've seen my books, the pages are quite yellow, and I don't really mind. Some people, I heard, keep the book in the original shrinkwrap that the book came in. Hurhur. I'm not THAT diligent enough to keep up that maintenance.

3. I can't stop buying books, even though I have too many unread books on my shelf.
Every biblophile identifies with this, maybe 70% of them. I am not one to browse the library often, I'm not exactly sure why, but I suspect it's because the library does not have the variety and exoticness that I wanted as compared to Kinokuniya. As the years went by, the habit stuck and I ended up buying books from Kinokuniya. Therefore, sometimes there are books that I bought that I didn't really like, for example, Coraline (review here!) and even the Eon/Eona series (review).

The number of books that I buy have dropped comparatively as compared to when I was younger. Then again, when I was younger, I read thinner books so...

That's all the book-related idiosyncrasies that I have. If you ask me, I don't have very particular pet peeves or weird stuff. I don't find the need to sniff the pages of a new book, or arrange them in any particular order. Wait, I DO arrange them to some kind of order, but it's not very systematic. Apart from a very particular obsession with nice, smooth book spines and a compulsive book buying disorder, I consider myself quite a normal bookworm.

What do you think?

Pictures taken from:
Harry Potter with different printing
Old Kingdom trilogy (Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen)

Sunday, October 12, 2014

What "Hirunaka no Ryuusei" has reminded me about writing

Warning: Spoilers for Hirunaka no Ryuusei's Chapter 76 ahead.

I should be doing other important stuff, but I felt that I need to bring this up as this will serve as a reminder to me in the future, should I ever feel discouraged.

I'm not sure how many of you have read this amazing shoujo manga called "Hirunaka no Ryuusei". If you have not, go read it. In the simplest way that I can describe, it is really good and worth a read.

Anyway, do you remember how I mentioned my dislike for love triangles?



Yeah, I still do. Anyway, quick introduction. Girl is Suzume, who fell in love with her teacher, Shishio. Meanwhile, classmate Mamura also likes her. Initially, Shishio likes Suzume too, but broke up with her when he felt the pressure of having to keep a secret teacher-student relationship (Good for you, Shishio.) So Suzume felt that she should move on, and she made the decision to be closer to Mamura.

Trust me. The story is much better written than my summary. Yes, yes, it's a typical shoujo manga plot, what were you expecting?

From here, the story spent a bit of time on Suzume and Mamura's relationship, while Shishio at the side, felt that he was not as willing to be apart from Suzume as he thought. The recent chapter has begun to climax the story, as Suzume finds out that Shishio was hospitalised and was concerned for him. Mamura, knowing of this, told Suzume to find Shishio.

Damn.

By the way, this post is NOT going to be a rant. I'll get to the real part in a bit, but allow me to say that to be honest, I was quite upset that the story was going to progress to a SuzumeXShishio ending (seems like it). I liked Mamura. He was the consistent character in the story and had always tried his best without being irritating. I also felt that Mamura and Suzume makes a more compatible pair.

Okay, that's over. Now, the REAL reason for this post.

Shortly after Chapter 76 was released, there was a ton of tweets sent to the author of the story, Yamamori Mika.


(I edited the names out for my website only.)

There were quite a number of tweets, but I just selected some. I was quite glad I was not on some impulse to send the author requests too. For one, I did not know that she was on Twitter, hehe.

Shortly after, Yamamori sensei made her Twitter private. Honestly, who would like to see that? Firstly, I suspect that since she has locked her Twitter account, it means that she really is going for a SuzumeXShishio ending. I will get over that.

I felt bad for her. She did not deserve the horrible comments from the readers, at all. Seeing what had happened to her reminded me that many years ago, I had something like that happening to me. I was writing "Their Memories of Fukinara High", and I paired Kyoshiro and Yuya together (by the way, the canon pairing is Kyo and Yuya, which I definitely prefer). I wrote with that pair in mind because Samurai Deeper Kyo had not ended yet, and it was a long time since I first started the initial "KISS Me!" that led to "Their Memories of Fukinara High".

So there was a reader who messaged me a few times over the story requesting for a KyoXYuya ending instead of a KyoshiroXYuya one. She even suggested plots to help 'salvage' the situation (as I saw it).

No. I remembered that feeling. It was bad. I felt torn on one hand to want to make my readers happy, and on the other hand, I wanted the story to go MY way. In the end, I ended the manga on hold so it ended as a KyoshiroXYuya story.

If Yamamori sensei's initial idea was for Suzume and Shishio to be together, then I WILL truly be disappointed if she changed to Suzume and Mamura just to make some readers happy. I want Yamamori sensei to do what she wants to do, even if the ending is something that I do not like.

So what has Hirunaka taught me? It has reminded me of how I felt when my readers wanted me to do things their way. It has reminded me that I am ultimately writing for my pleasure (and someday hopefully, for a living). It has reminded me that while feedback is good and should be considered, I should follow my heart for the best interests of the story and characters.

I will support Hirunaka no Ryuusei regardless of the ending.



やまもりせんせい、がんばってください!

Picture taken from:
Hirunaka no Ryuusei
Tweet posts
Chapter 1 coloured cover

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Days of Exile is near completion

Yes, you've heard me.

Days of Exile is near completion. I mean, really. For good. No more stories on Meia and co.

I am currently typing the second last and last chapter at the same time. So it just hit me that after the last chapter... I have no clue what I should do next.

A part of me actually cried out, "No! I don't want this to end!"

I guess that for the last three and a half years, I've been so comfortable in the world of Meia and my motley crew of BC Turks. I mean, yeah I dabble with other story ideas on the side, but I always return to "I Want To Be A Turk!" and "Days of Exile". The world and the characters that I've created are so second-nature to me now.

It will be darn weird when all this ends. I mean, when I start a brand new story, there will be no such character as Meia. Damn. What the heck.

What am I supposed to upload next? I feel so lost without a story to think about. It's time for me to commit to a new story soon.

Oh by the way, I intend to finish the entire story before the year ends. Yes. You WILL get everything out by December latest. I promise. So don't go missing in action on me yet, hehe!

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Writing 101 (2): Idea Hoarder (inspired by "Words Fail Me")

Today, I was browsing randomly in the bookstore and I've decided to get this book:



Well, it's not the kindle edition. I got the paperback. It's a book about writing. Don't ask me. I hate nonfiction, especially exposition, but reading all about the English language never bores me. I relish discussions and conversation explaining and arguing which preposition is more suitable for the verb and so on. Not that I'm an expert, but it is always an enlightening and satisfying moment when I get an answer, or acknowledgement that I knew was correct.

Anyway, I'm not done with the book (I just bought it, geez!) but I particularly liked a chapter where the author Patricia explained about organisation. As it turned out, she encouraged budding writers to hoard their ideas and keep them somewhere. You never know when you need them.

It's something I wished someone taught me before I threw my stash of laughable drafts away.

Anyway, after reading the chapter (actually I'm only halfway through the chapter but I'm pretty motivated now), here is my plan:

1. Write.
As Patricia T. O'Conner suggests, words, phrases, ideas, conversations, punchlines... Everything, anything. Write them down.

Noted with much gratitude. Looks like I'm going to be walking around with something to jot down all the time. Maybe it's time to buy a voice recorder. Nah, that would be too creepy. I'll lose friends at that rate.

2. Keep all plot bunnies 
Even if they are fanfiction or fiction, I'm going to now keep all my plot bunnies in a nice place. No more "Bah, that's stupid." *toss it to one side* EVEN IF it's stupid, I'm gonna keep it.

3. Keep a vocabulary notebook. For real.
I don't see this happening anytime soon, but I had a vision of collecting a compendium of new vocabulary words. Yup, I'm not going to upload them on the blog like before, because it'll be hard to maintain. It's not happening because I don't have the guts to get started. Seriously. I wish I can, but I barely know where to begin. It's supposed to be an attempt to improve my vocabulary, but now I see that it's necessary. Maybe I've got to do one for English and one for Japanese. Stay tuned... IF it ever happens.

So that's all I have planned so far! I'm going to head outta here and capture all my lost plot bunnies. Have a good Sunday ahead!

Picture taken from:
Book Cover

Friday, September 12, 2014

Days of Exile: Chapter 51

Hello ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to yet another rambling of my chapter in Days of Exile. By the way, do you know that if you click on the "Fanfiction Profile and Stories", you can go to my fanfiction page? The more you know...

Okay, enough with the sarcasm.

We have to start off first by clarifying what I've mentioned in Chapter 51. Yes, the main plot for "Days of Exile" is over. Remember how I mentioned in this post that I've got this "brilliant plan" of writing Meia's story starting from the time that Reno found her, to the events after Dirge of the Cerberus? 

Well, more than three years later, I must admit. I'm tired. My brain juices are dry from expecting this same plot chicken to lay eggs... excuse my metaphor. I kinda regret that after three years, my readers just stopped reading. It's really... sad and weird at the same time. I never stopped updating. Yes, I delayed the schedule pretty often, but I tried my best to upload one every two months, at least. Then again, I can't exactly fault my readers. I was reading some fics on my own too. Then, life got busier and I gave up reading the fanfiction of others in order to keep up with my own update schedule.

So seriously? It's sad that many of my readers would never have finished this story. Not any that have told me about. Lesson learnt. From now on, never make any stories more than 40 chapters, because nobody's got that kind of stamina, huh? But like what Veld said in the coming Chapter 52, I could not done it any better. Honestly, I’ve delivered all that I've wanted for the main plot and I’m ready for a new start.

So again, what now? Where am I going with this?

The final plan that I had in mind but did not tell you (refer to the post once again) was to finish up Days of Exile (including the chapters that you are going to see). Then, I'll start a brand new story in the same world that I've created, but with different OC as protagonists. Meia and all that has happened to her will be the 'fact' in the new story, but I will write assuming that none of my readers have read "I Want To Be A Turk" or "Days of Exile". It's not needed because it's a brand new story.

However, as I continued to write, I decided that even with a brand new story, it won't be good. I’ve hankered around this world long enough. I mean, it's been close to 3 and a half years since I started "I Want To Be A Turk!" It is high time for me to write something completely different. So… unfortunately, the story of Meia will really end once Days of Exile reaches the end that I want.

The purpose of continuing after Chapter 51 with random chapters is because I want to show you the snippets and plans that I initially had after Days of Exile, if it had continued. I do not want to make up new plots just to arrive at the ideas that I had. So... timeskips are going to be used.

I hope that my final answer is the answer that everyone is looking for. It has been one of the most epic stories I've written, and I won't ever forget the joy and satisfaction I get from writing this beauty. However, enough is enough. I do not want to keep riding on this past glory that I had. I want to continue to explore my writing capacities and improve.

Will I ever want to write that brand new story that I initially planned? Of course I want to. However, I doubt it will happen. I said before that I will continue some of my older stories, but I never did. I will not make empty promises like that anymore.

Meia is not the only one who has grown up.

Alrighty, I hope that your doubts are clear with this. I wanted to post this at a later date but oh well... I decided to spare you the suspense.

All I ask is to be with me and support me until this story's final breath.

Monday, August 25, 2014

Final Fantasy 7 Remake: What I Would Like to See

Yes, this is a post that is a result of my procrastination. I'm ashamed of it, but I'm also not going to deny it.

A while ago, I've mentioned about the Final Fantasy VII remake, which you can read about it here. So today, I thought I should finally get down to listing some of the things that I want to see in a remake, if money, time and talent were not a problem. Yup, I'm giving my wishlist in the FF7 remake.

1. Graphics
That was obviously a no brainer. I think the new generation cannot stand seeing hands in rectangular joints, much less cubic-hands. I tried to introduce FF7 to a group of 11 year olds back then. None of them were interested for long. If Square wants to have a remake, a remaster like what they did for FFX will not cut it. I'm not expecting FF13 graphics (though a good amount of fans are), but a remake would be lovely, no doubt.

2. Music
Of course having remade music would be awesome. As much as I love the original soundtrack, I doubt the new generation of gamers would appreciate the good ol' MIDI music. So, naturally it would be wonderful if they could remake the music, but keep the arrangement as it is. The old gamers would love the fact that nothing has changed about what they loved in the old version.

In other news, have you heard of this compilation called "Voices of the Lifestream"? It's a fanmade compilation of remade FF7 music. Some are amazing, some are normal, some sounds good enough to be used in the game itself. Do check it out.

3. Map
An upgrade of the world map would be nice. Not to mention awesome graphics to be changed when Cloud runs on the World Map. Yum. I would just drool thinking about the amazing graphics.

4. Battle system
I love the battle system in FF7, albeit simple. It was user-friendly for the RPG noob that I was, and I would not have it any other way. Camera angle, however, should be more flexible. I'm still okay with turn based and the developers could keep it that way. But you know... Crisis Core and its wonderful action RPG stint was just as amazing. It could be something that the developers would want to explore, but that's just me.

5. Translation
I loved FF7 and its primitve translation. Grammatical mistakes, incoherent conversations abound. Despite all that, it would be suicide to NOT change that. Times have changed, expectations have risen. The translations need to go. Yes, a full revamp would be what the game needs.

Yup, off the top of my head, that's what I'm looking for in an FF7 remake... if EVER. What is your wishlist?

Sunday, August 10, 2014

Book Review (8): Fire and Thorns

I realise that I have not posted a book review for a long time. Therefore, in the interest and the convenience that I've just finished a book, I shall post a review as soon as I can.

Here it is.



Fire and Thorns
Rae Carson

Story Sypnosis (in my own words): Sixteen year-old Elisa was marked by birth to be God's chosen one. However, she was definitely not looking like it and no one seemed to see her like it. An arranged marriage led her to discovering that her fate was more than what she had expected.

-------

I picked up this book by a very sheer random process of running my finger through the book spines until I found a title intriguing enough. Apparently, this book had a longer title called "A Girl of Fire and Thorns" but my book is just titled "Fire and Thorns". The story is the same.

1.  I was hooked onto the book really quickly.
When I was in the bookstore, I flipped through the first chapter and quickly found myself wanting to know more about the arranged wedding that Elisa got herself into. That was exactly what happened after I bought the book and read it properly again. Basically, I started on Saturday morning and just finished it half an hour before midnight. I did think about the book during the hours that I wasn't reading. (It took me a total of 5-6 hours or so to finish... If I'm not wrong.)

The book picked up a pretty good pace and kept at the pace throughout the entire book. I had no problems sustaining my interest over the 400 odd pages. Quite surprising, actually. It was almost too easy for me to be hooked like that. Maybe it's because it has been such a long time since I read a novel.

2. Elisa as a protagonist... together with a plethora of colourful characters.
As usual, characters make or break the story for me. You can have a cool story plot but if the characters can't deliver, the story can't shine.

Elisa is one of those unconventional heroines. Not the sort in Eon/Eona. Elisa is a fat, insecure and naive heroine who falls in love with people who give her attention because she had yearned for attention and acknowledgement all her life. She binges when she's upset and she is constantly going on about how fat she is.

I had no idea how fat she was. I mean, people were saying 'fat' in her face, she was complaining about how fat she was but it did not register in my mind. I was still thinking that she's just chubby. It was when she talked about prying breasts away in order to see her navel that I realise, "Good Lord, she is fat!" She shoves pastries in her mouth and thinks about scones. I love it.

That flaw in her was so stark, so apparent, so constant throughout the book. This really breaks all stigma about heroines needing to be beautiful and skinny. Although inexperienced, clumsy and naive, Elisa has a rather sharp acumen when it comes to reading people and gathering intelligence. She has read scriptures that makes her not only an educated princess, but one that is well-versed in war, even though she had never physically been in one.

The other characters do not pale in comparison either. Each one has some kind of quirk, a particular way of description that is so signature.

3. Twists.... Golly, I had NOT expected that!
There were SO many things that I DID NOT expect in this book. I had started the book not knowing what to expect. All my predictions came through... and then veered off into oh-my-gosh-how-did-that-happen revelations. I do not want to reveal any spoilers so I can't say more nor give examples.

I had mentioned in the Throne of Glass review that so far, the love triangles had no twists. I have to take my words back now. At the end of the book, I was quite at loss. "What now?" I ask myself.
-------

1. First person narrative.
I shouldn't really put this as a dislike because many, MANY young adult fiction are written in first person narrative. Eon/Eona (review here), Fifty Shades (review here), Twilight, Hunger Games and many, many chick-literature. Really, people. Is it so easy to write in the first person narrative?

Personally, it was hard for me to write in first person. I used to do it in my first serious fanfiction, which was Samurai Deeper Kyo's "KISS Me!", but when I started "I Want To Be A Turk!", something pushes me in the direction of a third person narrative. I eventually grow so used to it that now it's a little weird to write in first person. I feel that I lack perspective. Hurhur.

There aren't many stories that portrays a third person perspective, but they were all good novels. Harry Potter, Eragon, Throne of Glass (review here)...

Just saying.

2. I was apprehensive at the end.
Despite being hooked from beginning to the end, I was not blown away by the ending of the book. I did not have a strong urge to buy the sequel. In fact, I even considered borrowing from the library. Perhaps the reason was because the book ended itself quite well. There was obviously a hook for the sequel, but I'm pretty contented with how the book turned out enough to not pursue the sequel. What a weird thing to say, I know.

3. Too much reference to her Godstone.
Every few pages, Elisa HAD to refer to the mark of the chosen one, a gemstone embedded in her navel called the Godstone. She uses it for prayer, for reassurance, for warning, for clue finding... It's too much for me. It reminded me of Anastasia Steele and her limited vocabulary of "Oh my"s and "Holy cow"s. However, this may just be my personal thing, since the Godstone is the main plot trigger.

-------
Rating: Consider it.

It's in between Consider It and Love It, but I've placed this book under "Consider It" because as compared to the other books that I've labelled "Love It", this book does not quite make the cut. However, I do value this title very highly and will consider reading the rest of the trilogy and novellas.

Pictures taken from:
Book Cover

Disclaimer: Despite the official term, the above book review is not a wholesome and fully critical one. The book is merely reviewed and reflected on based on story writing skills and other literary elements.

Saturday, August 9, 2014

Love Triangles...

Before I get into this, I just want to clarify my previous post. I mentioned that I was going to upload Chapter 50. My mistake. I have not even uploaded Chapter 49. So we've gotta upload Chapter 49 first, right?

Then again, who is reading my story anymore? :( Silent readers, I suppose.

Back to the main point: Love triangles. I did not think about these until last year. That's when I really realised. I don't like love triangles. They are seriously the highlights of any romance story, but I don't like them still.

Oh, in case you are wondering, I stopped reading manga. Not that I lost interest. There were so many titles that I wanted to read (hmmm, sounds familiar with my novels too...) that I was not focusing on my career enough. So now I've stopped reading new titles.

Anyway, a few months back, I finished reading this manga called "Heroine Shikkaku". It was such a bittersweet story, because the guy and the girl did not get together until the very very last chapter. Sidenote: actually, it's pretty special in a way because most shoujo manga would spend more time drawing life after the protagonists get together. "Heroine Shikkaku" ended with the both of them finally coming to terms with their feelings. The journey to that moment was tedious, though. The boy was confused about who he likes. The girl was quite hurt throughout the entire manga.

It's kinda like that with the other titles too. In other titles, the girl actually ends up dating the rival because she was confused by the main boy's feelings. Even though everything worked out fine for the main boy and girl in the end, there was lots of heartbreak. In a love triangle fiasco, so many people will inevitably get hurt.

Honestly, I don't want that to happen to anyone, as far as possible. That's why I made it real clear with "Days of Exile" that Meia and Reno will be together. Even though I add in competition like Jasper and Kunsel, they pose no big threat. It's really difficult to console the character that is rejected, especially if a lot of emotional effort was made. I know that some manga tries to reconcile that by making the others fall in love with someone else, but that's just unrealistic.

I see love triangles being so prevalent in many books too... Twilight... Throne of Glass (review here!)...  Eon/Eona (review here!)... Hunger Games... plus a gazillion shoujo manga as the entourage.

Love Triangle, Seriously just pick one!
So true, Inuyasha. So true.


The million dollar question that lasts till the end of Advent Children.


This one dragged on for FOREVER!

Is it really often the way to go? I mean, look at "Eragon (review is now available!)"! A perfectly good story without any of that love triangle stuff. Maybe that's because there were so many things going on in "Eragon" too...

Well, if the story is done well, then the love triangle adds flavour and spice. However, it's kinda sad if the love triangle is the MAIN storyplot, I think. It's understandable with shoujo manga, but not so for novel. I'm sure you can do a lot more than that, right?

Those are my opinions, and I'm not expecting anyone to agree with me. For all we know, sometime down the road, I will write a full blown love triangle story, hyuk hyuk. Life is strange, sometimes.

I shall end by wishing my country a HAPPY NATIONAL DAY!

Singapore is definitely a country to visit, once in your lifetime. Probably once is more than enough because we are THAT small. Nevertheless, it is a country to visit and understand the culture, if you can catch up with us locals.




Pictures from:
Inuyasha
Tifa and Aerith
Archie Comics
Merlion

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Good Lord, has it been one month?

I apologise for taking so long to upload the newest chapter. Let me have a final proofread before I upload Chapter 50.

By the way, the story is coming to an end soon. Just that there's much much more to go before I call it quits!

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Workshop: Fiction Writing (Part 2)

Thanks all, for waiting. Here is the second half of my reflections after the writing workshop. You can read about the first half here.

3. Even when you are tired, you can write pretty decent stuff.
Writing, fun as it was, was no joke. Writing and thinking of ideas from 9 to 5 was tiring. At the last exercise, my mind was already like, "let's just do something simple." So yes... I kind of relaxed and chose the first idea that came to my mind instead of working on that idea a bit more. However, after I was done, I took a look and I thought, "Hey, it could have been worse." I've submitted that piece of writing to the facilitator to look through. She will be a good benchmark to my expectations.

Of course, I'm not saying that I'm satisfied with half-committed work. Nevertheless, if there is a moral of this story, it'll be this: Don't make fatigue your excuse... as with other things like work and life and family etc. *feeling really guilty right now*


(I shall join Tamaki senpai from Ouran High School Host Club in his corner of woe...)

4. I appreciate fanfiction.net
For the sheer reason that through them I, at the very least, have been given an avenue to publish something. Anything. Publishing crap work to not-so-crap-but-still-boring work over these years gave me a valuable thing called experience.

5. I'm on the 'right' track
Not trying to be stuck up or anything, but it's just that some of the things that the facilitator had mentioned and recommended are things that I am currently doing. It's pretty awesome to know that. And I can only attribute to that many many years of stumbling and fumbling and getting people to critcise your writing. It was sad to see that I could have learnt those in just a one-day workshop rather than going through the whole thing over so many years. However, I guess I had to learn some things the hard way. What I'm trying to say is, experience is key.

6. Things are better with comrades
I was sitting in a group of six, and these people are really supportive, witty and fun to be with. In addition, they were very tactful with their comments. It was really lovely. Time just flies when I was writing with them, and we even had lunch together :P Well, all of them read my Chapter 50 draft. They did not give much comments (which meant more than it sounded), but it was an amazing feeling nevertheless to give your work to someone to look through. I should try to humble myself more to allow a second opinion because well... all my stories were written and planned and edited by me.

In conclusion, I had a brilliant time. I can't wait to go for another one someday. You ask, "Are you using the things that you're learning into your stories?" Truthfully, not always. It's a little time consuming, hurhur. But the tips do appear in my mind once in a while as reminders. Hehe. Yup. I'll continue to work hard for my readers and my characters.

Tamaki Sempai's corner of woe taken from here.

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Workshop: Fiction Writing (Part 1)

I went to a writing workshop a few weeks ago. To those who are clueless, here is the details of that workshop. You may need to click on the image to have a larger view.



If you remember my previous post, I was talking about how afraid I was to meet other writers because of my background as a fanficion writer. Turns out that I was too paranoid about it.

The workshop was amazing. Well, I think it's kinda rude to disclose what I've learnt. I think that it's best to the facilitators at the workshop. At most, I'll give some kind of remark rather than a detailed  So if you are here, expecting some kind of crash course, well, you're not going to get it, sorry :(

Firstly, we did a self-introduction. I was the second one in the line, so I had to make quick decisions. Should I just keep quiet? Or kick myself in the shins and jump into the fire? Well, I made the latter choice.

"Hi, I'm aichioluv, and I'm... I'm a closet fanfiction writer."

No one really reacted. Do they even know what is fanfiction? My facilitator, however, chuckled, though not in a bad way (I hope). So I continued.

"I'm here (in this workshop) because I want to see what I'm lacking in my writing, which should be a lot. And I want to see how I can improve in my writing."

Yup, my self-introduction went by smoothly. Not angry mob of nay-sayers, no pitch forks, nothing. Yes yes yes, I was overreacting, I admit. But seriously, I know the general reputation of fanfiction being completely unoriginal (duh, it's fanfiction!) and substandard. Of course I worry. It was absolutely liberating, my confession. After that, I felt less concerned, for some reason. No one judged me, at least they did not say it out.

I really enjoyed the workshop and I've picked up some tips for improvement. If I really had to nitpick, I wished that we had gone more in depth. Maybe analyse author's works and discuss how we can use their awesomeness to improve ourselves. Hmm, is it even legal?

Apart from that, I'm simply glad that the workshop delivered what it needed to deliver. Here are some of the things that I've discovered and rediscovered during the workshop.

1. I had no idea I have an inner critic.
At the start of the workshop, we were supposed to dismiss our inner critic. I was thinking, "What inner critic? I will be happy enough if I was more critical of my work." Due to everyone from fanfiction.net being so nice and friendly, even if I had any mistakes, they may put it in such a roundabout way... or maybe they did not even notice.

Then, I remembered. Once upon a time, I received a painfully honest review for one of my earlier works. In his/her defense, I'm super grateful for that review because it gave me a good reality slap on my face. Unoriginal as it may be, fanfiction is, obviously, works and characters created by the original author. To make characters out of their character is kind of an insult to the author, in my opinion now. So I'm glad that that reviewer was honest enough to tell me.

That being said, since then I was ever so cautious in my planning and I try to be real critical with myself - especially with character portrayal. Sometimes, I feel exceedingly frustrated when I can't illustrate certain personalities the way I imagined it to be. I guess that could be my inner critic trying to giving my ideas 'friendly reminders' back to oblivion.

So, I do have an inner critic. Never thought about that. While it's good to have a certain standard for yourself, it is just as important to ignore the internal naysayers and write what YOU want to write.

2. I've pushed myself out of the box.
I guess I really surprised myself there. Not that I am a really good fantasy/adventure writer in the first place, but I never considered making characters more than what I was comfortable with. In the end, I thought of things and ideas that were sort of out of my usual style. At least, what was what I tried to do. I did try to make one of the characters in an exercise a failed comedian, but I guess even the function of a failed comedian failed on me. *sigh* humour was never my strong point. Nevertheless, I was glad that I tried to do something slightly different. Turns out that I could so it if I really try.

I'll continue another time!

Details of workshop were taken from here.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Did you ever not know the importance of something until it's gone?

Yes, the cliche sentence.

I'm feeling it big time now.

I've just deleted an entire section of writing.

It's gone. Forever.

Damn it.

I want to curl up and cry >_____<

EDIT: I'VE FOUND IT! I found a previous version in my harddisk. That folder was not backed up for many months but well, I wrote that scene a long time ago so... I'm just so happy and grateful and relieved.

Phew.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

It is over...

EDIT (28 June): Well, further reading of the novellas just threw my entire chapter around. So yes, I'm back to editing the last chapter. Still, it's pretty awesome that I've made it this far. Just saying *smirk*

Yes, it is over.

If you are wondering what I am blabbering about. I am actually quoting from the last chapter of Days of Exile.

Yup, you've heard me.

Days of Exile is completed!

Well, there are still things going on, but rest easy, citizens of fandom. You will get your story out soon. Let's say... around August? So near yet so far, huh? :)

I wanted to write about the writing workshop, but oh well. Another time, I suppose?

Saturday, June 21, 2014

So excited!

Aloha, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter that I've written.

Tomorrow (21st June), I will be attending a workshop on Fiction Writing, conducted by Academy of Literary Arts and Publishing Singapore. Any Singaporean writers here who are going tomorrow, I guess I'll see you. I would be super stoked if someone came to me and said that they have read my fanfiction, but then again, I don't have many Singaporean readers. Oh well.

Now, to be honest? I'm super anxious about tomorrow.


(K-ON! An anime that I would really love to watch, but it's not quite high in my priority list.)

What am I anxious about? Tons of things! This workshop is supposed to be an advanced workshop. Yes, I have experience in writing. But experience does not always equate to ability. I can just imagine.

Facilitator: let's have a short introduction around the room.

Participant A: Oh, I dabble a lot on writing. I've written articles for the Strait's Times (Singaporean newspaper).

Participant B: I've been sending manuscripts to publishers so I'm hoping for the best.

Aichioluv: Um... I write fanfiction?

*cue awkward silence*

I know, I should be proud of my 'heritage' but I am worried. What if I'm not cut out for this? What if I end up being more confused? What if my writing is so kiddish and I completely humiliate myself tomorrow?

What if, what if, what if...

I guess I'll only know tomorrow.

I would love to give you details about the workshop but I really want to get back to writing my chapter, so I'll tell you more after the workshop.

Meanwhile, have a good weekend!

Gif taken from here

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Days of Exile: Chapter 47

Hehe, I must at least keep to my promise and come back after the two week break, right? No, I did not manage to reflect on how to be more efficient. But at least, the busiest part of my work is over for a few weeks or so. I will try to get my writing done.

Anyway here's the exciting chapter. In many things, I kinda outdid myself. This chapter is seriously a chapter which was in my head for the longest time. So to see it materialise and be published is something I never thought I had the commitment and dedication to do.

I took things to my own hands and did my own interpretation of what happened between Cloud and Tifa at the airship. If it is true as many speculated that they did naughty stuff, then it's just unnatural. I feel that their relationship was not very well-executed in the entire story, and it would be just weird if Cloud all of a sudden decided that Tifa was good to be with.

Also, maybe a lot of you do not agree with the way I portray Tifa. I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but so far, I'm kind of liking it. Tifa has this whole world of feelings and emotions, but she is finding difficulty in expressing them. I'll see where this leads and hopefully I can see a different side of Tifa that I've never seen before.

I like to write about the scenes concerning "On The Way To A Smile - Case of Shinra". I definitely look forward to writing more about Rufus Shinra. Though with my new plan, I'm not too sure how that will turn out...

Ahhh, finally. Reno and Meia have crossed the barrier, once and for all. I honestly struggled with whether I should ever write about them getting intimate. It was the original plan, but halfway through I pondered as to whether it would be too cheesy, or too unnatural. Truth be told, I played Meia as such an innocent character that such elements would hardly be related to her at all. So I did drop hints to remind you guys that hey, Meia is twenty, and well, she is grown up already.

Sidenote: Gee, do people even bother with abstinence before marriage? It seemed to many fanfic writers that the characters are all such... frivolous people. Gah, this would take another long time to explain. But in a nutshell, in the end I decided that I'll just go with it. Next time I may make more considerations before writing something like that, but it was interesting to weigh the options then.

Whatever the case is, the chapter is over, and uploaded. I would really, really, really appreciate it if you could review it. But whether there are reviews or not, I will continue to write this. I want to finish this.

Have an awesome week ahead!

Sunday, May 25, 2014

If I had never admitted it, I'll admit it now...

I'll take a break.

Yes, I know. I haven't been writing actively in the first place. I was mainly reading more manga and books, so I haven't had time to focus on writing. But really, for now, I gotta stop kidding myself in thinking that I am getting any chapters done. Work is piling up, more than I can even imagine. Therefore, I will really, officially, take a break for two weeks. I have to settle my work and really reflect how I can be more efficient in my life.

Right now, I can imagine everyone who is reading this is thinking, "That's what every author says before they disappear from the face of earth and leave their fanfiction unfinished." I'm not going to blame you, neither will I make any promises. Of course I want to finish "Days Of Exile", but the time is not now. Ideally I want to continue in two weeks' time, but life is unpredictable.

Yup, so I'll take a break. I've been receiving your story favourites and reviews, though. And even though it's just a few of you, it really warms my heart. Thank you.

I'll see all of you on the blog in a few weeks' time!

Friday, May 2, 2014

Update: May 2014

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Have I really been gone for two months?
Gee, I'm really sorry. I did mention in the other post that if I were to ever stop, I will at least have the decency to announce and say goodbye properly, right?

Here it goes... I'm still writing.

Yup, you've heard me. I'm still writing my fanfiction. It's just that of course I'm not focusing on it as much as I would like. I am not joking when I say that my work is taking up a lot of my time. However, in my free time, I've actually returned to another hobby: manga-reading.

Here's the thing. I have so many interests that I can never juggle them equally. So subconsciously, I kinda did some sort of a rotation thing. It is true. I change from hobby to hobby, because I cannot keep up with all my interests. I started fanfiction in 2005, but my school activities and manga/anime got into the way. Then in high school I was so focused on my student council work that I barely did anything else. I did end up playing a lot of online games and went back to fanfiction. Entering university, I stopped playing online games and fanfiction in order to pursue dance. After I ended my 3 years of dance, I finally went back to fanfiction (which was what started "I Want To Be A Turk!") and it has been that way ever since...

Until now.

Recently, I've gone back to reading manga again. I've not read manga intensively for a long time and I kinda missed it.

So yes, if you were wondering where have I been, I've been reading manga for almost 2 months. I'm super inspired by many of the stories out there and it encourages me to put in more effort to my story. Anyway, here's a message to assure you that I'm still here. I'm still updating the story, albeit a little slow. Give me more patience, please!

Meanwhile, it doesn't hurt to hear from you, but I guess maybe my readers are also going through a stage in their lives without fanfiction. Whatever the case is, feel free to drop a message and say hi or something :)

Monday, March 3, 2014

Confession: What I think of Fanfiction

I live a life of double-standards.

I refer to myself, of course.

Sometimes when I talk to avid literature students, the topic of fanfiction would inadvertedly pop out. Then, comes the wave of comments from the nay-sayers.


"It's not original."

"It's stupid, why would people want to use characters of others and not make their own?"

"Fanfiction is full of writers who can't write."

To top the cake with icing, along came "Fifty Shades of Grey", which is a hit and miss with the world. Hit, for people who want face-value trashy entertainment. Miss, for (hipster) people who insist that Fifty Shades of Grey was a literary abomination. If you want my opinion, it's over hereThe annoying thing is, even though I do defend the quality of fanfiction, I cannot deny that there are fanfiction out there that are not worth one's time. 

What would be my usual response? I would say along the lines of "Yeah, most of them are bad. But there are some stories out there that are absolute gems."

Don't get me wrong, my fanfic writer friends, in case you are now doubting my perception of your stories. When I say bad fanfics, I really mean, BAD fanfics. I'm talking about fics that are filled with absolute randomness, incoherence, horrible sentence structure and spelling... Things like that. I'm not referring to fics where characters are out of character or the story plot escalates too quickly. I'm talking about fics that make no grammatical sense at all. 

Stories that have issues like out of character, escalation, fluff and Mary-Sues, those can be easily refined and improved. My stories are full of nonsense too. Sometimes I am proud of my writing. Sometimes I want to burn them and never write again. However, slowly and surely, we fanfic writers are improving. As long as we keep writing, and we have a heart to learn and observe, we WILL improve. 

To those people who think fanfiction is a whole horde of trash, please go to a fanfiction website, and dedicate yourself one hour. All will not be in vain. It's like going to a thrift shop sometimes. You spend 80% of your time going through weird, incoherent, dubious-looking fics, and the other 20% you will be gushing at how amazing that fanfic is at painting a picture, how emotional you felt with this character, how awesome it would be if you could write like that, and so on. 

Regardless of how bad or good the fic is, the existence of a fanfic is the highest compliment anyone could ever pay to the author... on some level. No one would bother to meddle a story that meant nothing to them. Of course, I'm saying this as a fanfic writer. Maybe when I become a legit writer (IF that day comes), I may think differently. Although it would be such a tragedy for me to think so.

I say to you again. Fanfiction is NOT just a whole horde of trash. Despite what the public say, I believe that there is value in fanfiction that not many sees.

I have met many fanfic writers who wrote beautifully. People who will make me emotional just with their words. I know many fanfic writers who, like me, share a big passion for writing, and would do all they can to improve themselves day by day. That's why the community is worth staying, even if it's just for a bit longer.

Anyway, to end this post, it all came about because I was in the car with a bunch of friends, and then I was talking to someone (who knew about my fanfiction writing) about how Meia from Days of Exile was of a particular personality. And another person was curious. 

"I am actually a closet fanfiction writer," I said to her with an embarrassed look on my face, though she could not see because it was dark.

"Oh..." She trailed off and I was ready to let it go but then she said, "That's quite cool. I'm a closet writer myself too."

:D Imagine that! Finding a fellow closet writer. She writes non-fiction, but hey, I don't care! I found a fellow closet writer! So we talked and all, and she showed some interest in reading my fics, but now that I'm back home, my panic is setting back in again. My writing is so childish, and so superficial...

Maybe I won't send her my fanfiction link so quickly. *hides in a shell*

Monday, February 24, 2014

Manga and Anime... What makes me squeak?

Of course I meant squeak in excitement :D

Warning: Lots of fangirling ahead.

I came upon this realisation about myself recently. You see, I like reading manga and watching anime. Of course in recent years where I need to juggle these hobbies with other interests as well, I could not focus on these things as much as I like to. Nevertheless, I like manga and anime. If there is a chance, I'll definitely want to make time for them.

There are many titles to read from, and so I did. However, I noticed that certain manga/anime (let's stick to manga as I read more of them then watch anime) appeals to me more. What I mean is that while reading the story, some titles make me want to read more and more and I simply can't stop. Some titles just does not make me feel like "I've GOT to see what happens next!" Usually if these manga are still in publishing, it takes a long time for me to pick it up and continue.

Due to this, often I have to answer to why I am just not as interested to continue Toriko or HunterxHunter. But I think I've got it all figured out now. I need to have at least one character that attracts me physically. Like, I found out that very often if I were to read something and I go "So handsome!" or "So cool!"... most likely, I will be motivated to pick up the storyline again.

In other words, there needs to be something for me to FANGIRL about. ...

IT ALL MAKES SENSE!

Okay, I don't have to go hardcore fangirl at all. Many characters that I am going to list below ended their charm on me when the series ended too... maybe just lasting till a week after :P As long as the "attraction" is there while I'm watching it. That's all.

Here are the various manga/anime that I've been reading in the last two years... Of which within the first few episodes I found someone to fangirl about.

Full Metal Alchemist (I know right... what took me so long to watch this awesome work?)



I was watching Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood (a long awaited promise that I made to myself years, years, years ago). All of a sudden, I feel the spark of fangirlism. That's when I remembered that once upon a time, when I was still watching Full Metal Alchemist (the original), I had a small fangirl crush on Edward Elric. How can such a small guy have so much charm?? :3

Needless to say, I'm charmed by Edward Elric's seriousness whenever he fights.

Ao No Exorcist



I love this anime, and love the manga more (Why aren't they publishing the translations quickly!!) Absolutely started fangirling when Rin declared that he'll defeat Satan. Renzo Shima and Shura are also my favourites.

Sidenote: Oh crap. I believe I just stumbled upon a spoiler in the wiki. NOOO!!!

One Piece



Zorro and Sanji are my favourite characters (I like everyone though!) Sanji was the very first character I saw while first watching a random episode in the anime. But upon reading the manga at last, I saw Zorro, and instantly I was like "So cool!!!"

Fairy Tail



Natsu. Grey. Super mainstream. But who could dislike them? Even though I've stopped reading Fairy Tail, I don't mind picking it up again, for this reason among others.

Samurai Deeper Kyo



Ah. Seriously, the best manga I've read in its time. SDK was one of the first shounen manga that I've read and I seriously love it. But oh wait, we are not reviewing it. I must admit though, I may not like this manga as much without the presence of my dear scatterbrained Hotaru (bottom right).

Here's a shoutout to all SDK fanfiction writers, the people who were the first few to read my serious fanfiction works.

MAGI (Recent anime and manga that I've started)



MAGI is currently a series that I feel a lot for, but that's for another blog post if I ever got a chance. Yep, needless to say, Alibaba is just so handsome :D Okay, Alibaba also happens to be someone whose character development and portrayal is awesome. That probably adds more points, in my opinion.

Sharrkan is cool too, but let's just focus on one now, alright?

Alibaba-anime2

*sigh*

Finally, who can forget?

Final Fantasy VII

Crisis Core Reno


EDIT: Apparently two pictures of Reno show up when I publish it, but I don't know how to get rid of it. Oh well, I'm not complaining.

If you do not know that I'm fangirling over Reno, you should seriously go back and read my fanfiction agian.

There are many more, but we shall not list them all, haha! Hmm, I should totally do a post on reviews of the anime that I've watched too. Like, a short paragraph describing... okay, I'm digressing.

Ah, looks like I'm out of time. I will post another post on anime/manga that I could not begin to like or chase after despite its popularity.

Thanks for sticking with me through the fangirling. Hopefully I've recommended you some titles to try too :)

Pictures taken from:
FMA
Ao No Exorcist
One Piece
Fairy Tail
Samurai Deeper Kyo
MAGI
Alibaba
Reno